UV Digital Ink Formulator

Avery Dennison Corporation (NYSE: AVY) is a global materials science and digital identification solutions company. We are Making Possible™ products and solutions that help advance the industries we serve, providing branding and information solutions that optimize labor and supply chain efficiency, reduce waste and mitigate loss, advance sustainability, circularity and transparency and better connect brands and consumers. We design and develop labeling and functional materials, radio-frequency identification (RFID) inlays and tags, software applications that connect the physical and digital and offerings that enhance branded packaging and carry or display information that improves the customer experience. Serving industries worldwide — including home and personal care, apparel, general retail, e-commerce, logistics, food and grocery, pharmaceuticals and automotive — we employ approximately 35,000 employees in nearly 60 countries. Our reported sales in 2025 were $8.9 billion. Learn more at www.averydennison.com.

The Digital Ink Solutions team at Avery Dennison designs, compounds and delivers high-quality ink systems for industrial printing, OEM printer manufacturers, direct-to-object applications and packaging. Their latest technology focus is on UV and LED-curable inks, including specialty pre-coat solutions for glass and challenging substrates. Avery Dennison

Role Overview

We are looking for a highly capable UV Digital Ink Formulator (PhD) to lead and execute research and development of UV/LED curable inks—from concept through commercialization. You will work cross-functionally (R&D, applications, quality, manufacturing, regulatory) to drive formulation innovation through raw material selection,  assessment of physical performance properties, regulatory compliance and scale-up readiness. If you thrive in a fast-paced, materials-science driven environment and want to make an impact in advanced ink systems, this is for you.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the development of next generation UV/LED-curable digital ink formulations: select ink components such as monomers/oligomers, photoinitiators, dispersions and  additives to create ink formulations for  performance on various substrates.

• Manage multiple product development projects, focused on ink-jet inks design and improvement, while achieving targeted costs, project timing, and customer and regulatory specifications

• Design, execute and analyse experiments to optimize cure behaviour, adhesion, flexibility, print performance, colour stability, shelf life, print-head compatibility and durability (mechanical, chemical, environmental).

• Validate ink performance through printing in-house and working with customers.

• Carry out on-site hands-on ink formulation, testing and printing.

• Translate customer and market requirements (industrial printing, direct-to-object, packaging graphics) into technical specifications and formulation targets.

• Scale-up promising formulations from lab to pilot manufacturing; work with manufacturing/compounding teams to ensure batch reproducibility, process robustness, cost targets and quality metrics.
   

• Support regulatory and sustainability initiatives: ensure inks meet environmental, health & safety standards and support requested certifications and compliance requirements..
   

• Generate technical documentation: formulation records, test method protocols, stability/aging studies, failure analyses, root-cause investigations, and intellectual property capture (patent ideas).
   

• Mentor junior chemists/technicians, share best practices in UV chemistry, photopolymerisation, and ink-system engineering.
   

• Stay abreast of emerging UV/LED photochemistry, ink-jet / digital printing trends, new substrates and materials to position us ahead of competition.

Required:

• Master's in Chemistry, Polymer Science, Material Science or closely related discipline (emphasis on photopolymerisation or UV curable systems).
   

• Minimum 2+ years of relevant experience developing UV/LED curable coatings or inks in industrial environments for candidates with a PhD. 4+ years for those with a Master's degree.
   

• Strong analytical skills: experience with rheology, particle-size measurement, surface tensiometry, cure-testing, adhesion testing, environmental aging.
   

• Hands-on lab experience with formulation and small-scale compounding, plus experience facilitating scale-up to pilot/production.

• Excellent organization and written documentation of experimentation planning, results and analysis.
   

• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills; ability to translate technical detail into business value.
   

• Comfortable in a global business environment; able to manage multiple projects and priorities.

• Team player with excellent interpersonnel interaction skills

• Ability to apply learnings from research to  proceed to commercialization in an expedited manner

Preferred:

• PhD in Chemistry, Polymer Science, Material Science or closely related discipline (emphasis on photopolymerisation or UV curable systems).

• Deep working knowledge of photoinitiator systems, UV/LED cure chemistry, oligomer/monomer networks and adhesion science.

• Extensive experience in digital printing and ink-jet ink formulation for packaging and direct-to-object substrates.
   

• Patent-filing experience or strong innovation track record.
   

• Experience working in a matrixed global organisation, with manufacturing and quality teams.
   

What We Offer

• A role in a global leader in digital ink solutions, with substantial growth and innovation potential.
   

• Opportunity to drive next-generation UV/LED ink systems and influence manufacturing and business strategy.
   

• Collaborative environment with strong support for R&D, pilot manufacturing and commercialisation.
   

Competitive compensation, benefits and professional development opportunities.

The base salary range for this position will be $100k-135k / year. The hiring base salary range represents what Avery Dennison reasonably expects to pay for this position as of the date of this posting. Actual salaries will vary within the range, and in some circumstances may be above or below the range, based on various factors including but not limited to a candidate’s relevant skills, experience, education and training, and location, as well as the job scope and complexity, responsibilities, and regular and/or necessary travel required for the position, which may change depending on the candidate pool. Avery Dennison reserves the right to modify this information at any time, subject to applicable law.  

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, or other protected status. EEOE/M/F/Vet/Disabled. All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

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